"Such terrifying strength."
"Even more terrifying battle talent."
Leng Qianyu's heart trembled.
The Crown Prince of Great Zhou was only nine years old, yet his battle experience felt like that of an old fiend who had lived for a hundred years. This was nothing short of being born a natural battle genius.
"Keep hunting the other beasts," Yang Cheng said.
He didn't interfere with the others. He had already obtained a beast core from a Beast Emperor-level monster—that was like eating the fattest meat. Naturally, he had to leave some broth for the others.
While the others hunted, Yang Cheng walked deeper into the cave.
At the peak of Qingqiu's Heavenly Pillar Mountain, there was a precious treasure of heaven and earth—the Mirror Wall.
This time, Yang Cheng had come to the Qingqiu Secret Realm not only to strengthen himself but also for this treasure.
The Mirror Wall could reflect one's own memories. It ignored the limits of time and space, recreating scenes from the mind.
In his previous life, Yang Cheng's world had been almost completely shrouded in darkness. But in that darkness, there had been a few rare sparks of light.
Two of them stood out the most in his memory. One was his mother's protection before he turned sixteen. The other was a mysterious woman.
At eighteen, Yang Cheng had fallen into the Death Devil's Den. That place was so terrifying that even with his stubborn willpower, he couldn't hold on. He fainted.
When he was unconscious, a mysterious woman had appeared there.
She saved him.
But when he woke, she was already gone.
The reason Yang Cheng knew someone had been there was twofold. First, during the later part of his unconsciousness, he had a hazy awareness. He vaguely sensed her presence and caught her scent.
It was a unique fragrance.
At first it smelled like plum wine sealed in the depths of winter—sour-sweet, wrapped in the soft warmth of glutinous rice. A little deeper, there was intoxicating musk, mixed with the faint chill of wax plum blossoms steeped in snowmelt, teasing the heart with its lingering trace.
Second, beside him were footprints.
Women's feet were usually smaller than men's. The prints by his side were clearly left by a woman.
When he was a hundred years old, he was besieged by dozens of enemies and almost died. That woman appeared again.
She didn't show herself, only sent a sword strike from afar.
He only realized she had come afterward. When he rushed to the place she had stood, he once again caught that familiar lingering fragrance.
Though he had never even known who she was, twice she had pulled him back from the abyss. Those memories were seared deep into his heart.
Now that he had a chance, he wanted to find her.
He wanted to know who she really was.
As he walked, Yang Cheng's eyes flickered.
Ever since entering the Qingqiu Secret Realm, he had felt his fortune soaring. Inside the Square Inch Mysterious Realm, the mist had grown even denser.
'Looks like the powerful rules inside this realm are suppressing Lin Xinglan. That leaves Yang Xiu without supervision, so he's throwing himself into mad cultivation of the Heaven-Devouring Technique.'
Yang Cheng smiled.
This was a good thing for him.
The more Yang Xiu used the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron, the stronger he would grow, but his fate would weaken all the faster.
In terms of martial talent, Yang Xiu had never been truly top-tier. He couldn't even compare with Tian Congxuan.
So martial talent and strength had never been his true advantage.
Yang Xiu's troublesome part lay in being the Heaven's Mandate Son of the Wasteland Realm, blessed with immense fortune.
But if that fortune was broken, then Yang Xiu would be no more than another Tian Congxuan.
At that point, Yang Cheng wouldn't need to worry about him anymore.
While he thought this, his steps never slowed.
Before long, he reached the innermost part of the cave and saw a stone wall.
At first glance, it seemed completely ordinary.
Anyone else would look once and quickly turn away, unable to stir its hidden wonder.
But in his last life, this was the wall Yang Xiu had discovered. After that, Yang Xiu became even more terrifying.
This time, Yang Cheng would never hand this fortune over.
Ding!
[This is the Mirror Wall Ruins.]
[Over four hundred years ago, Yang Xiu saw this wall. To prevent anyone else from gaining the opportunity, he destroyed it.]
[But fragments of the Mirror Wall still exist. If you collect all the pieces scattered throughout the Nether Abyss, you can restore it.]
[Please restore the wall within ten years. Success will be rewarded with Innate Blade Intent.]
Yang Cheng stared at the Mirror Wall for ten breaths.
Buzz!
On the stone wall, his own reflection appeared.
[Sss! The Mirror Wall has been reactivated. This proves the host has already restored it.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Innate Blade Intent.]
Yang Cheng didn't care about the system's subtitles.
On the wall, time seemed to flow backward. Countless scenes from his mind appeared, many from his past life.
Finally, he saw the memory from when he was eighteen.
Without hesitation, he poured his spiritual power into the Mirror Wall.
Buzz!
Almost instantly, he felt as if he had pierced through time and space, stepping into the place of memory.
Darkness.
Oppression.
Everywhere, deathly winds raged.
This was the depths of the Death Devil's Den.
Yang Cheng stood like an observer of time, watching his unconscious body lying on the ground.
Then, a woman appeared.
The Mirror Wall was truly too wondrous, too heaven-defying.
At that moment, Yang Cheng actually caught the familiar fragrance.
His heart trembled.
He saw her.
In the Death Devil's Den, blizzards raged endlessly. She stepped lightly across the snow through the dim light. The edge of her cloak was frosted with the unique death-ice crystals of this place.
When she reached his side, she lifted her hood, and her long hair spilled down like a waterfall.
It was a young woman, not yet twenty.
Her features were exquisite. Beneath her willow brows, phoenix eyes still held traces of frost and snow, yet their corners lifted slightly, glowing with a flush like the aftertaste of wine.
The impression she gave was cool and aloof, yet with a touch of girlish charm.
At her waist hung a wine flask.
She took it off.
When she opened it, the scent of plum wine wafted out.
She drank a sip herself, then bent down and poured a mouthful into unconscious Yang Cheng's lips.
Warmth spread through his body, melting the thick frost that had already sealed his skin.
"Meeting me means your life is blessed," she said softly.
Her red lips parted, showing white teeth. When she smiled, her mouth curved gently, a faint dimple appearing at her cheek like shallow ripples, as if brimming with sweet wine.
In that instant, Yang Cheng's pupils contracted sharply. His spirit shook violently, like a meteor falling into his sea of consciousness, raising towering waves.
Tang Xingyu!
This woman was unmistakably Tang Xingyu, grown up.
Those eyes, that dimple—it was exactly the same as the ten-year-old Tangtang.
Yang Cheng never imagined that the mysterious woman engraved in his heart from his past life was Tang Xingyu.
But how had Tang Xingyu saved him in the past, and twice at that?
In his past life, when he was only a year old, Tang Xingyu and Cheng Junyi had already left the Wasteland Realm. They hadn't returned until a hundred years later.
And when he had met Tang Xingyu again after that, her attitude toward him had been cold and indifferent.
Buzz!
At that moment, the memory-space shook violently.
Yang Cheng knew his spirit power couldn't endure any longer.
But he was already satisfied.
Just knowing the identity of the mysterious woman meant his purpose was fulfilled.
The next moment, his consciousness returned to reality.
Before him, cracks had already spread across the Mirror Wall.
Clearly, using it damaged it.
But from its state, it was obvious it could still be used a few more times.
In his past life, Yang Xiu probably couldn't move it, so he chose to destroy it directly.
Yang Cheng was different.
He had the Heaven-Earth Spatial Domain. Storing the wall was no problem.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
He used a wooden sword to slice apart the surrounding stone, separating the wall from the rest of the cave.
"Collect."
Yang Cheng decisively stored it away.
The Mirror Wall didn't just let him see memories from his past life. The benefits he gained were enormous.
The greatest improvement was in his spiritual power.
At that moment, his spirit strength had broken through the Martial Emperor level and reached Martial Saint level.
This alone showed how heaven-defying the Mirror Wall was.
Just then, Yang Cheng sensed something. His expression shifted slightly, and he walked outside.
As soon as he stepped out of the cave, he saw hundreds gathered outside.
Clearly, martial artists of other factions had also rushed to Heavenly Pillar Mountain.
Yang Xiu, Mo Jialan, Tian Congxuan, and Zhao Shouyi were all standing not far away.
When Yang Xiu saw Yang Cheng walk out of the cave, unease flooded his heart.
Before entering the Qingqiu Secret Realm, Lu Jingshu had told him that Heavenly Pillar Mountain held two great fortunes. One was the corpse of the divine beast Chiwen at the summit. The other was the Mirror Wall in the mountainside cave.
But Yang Cheng had entered the cave ahead of him.
Thinking of how Yang Cheng had snatched multiple fortunes before, he grew even more uneasy.
"Yang Cheng, according to my information, that cave holds a great fortune," Yang Xiu shouted coldly.
"And then?"
Yang Cheng looked at him calmly.
"Don't try to deny it," Yang Xiu pressed. "I have more than enough intelligence reports to prove it…"
"You talk too much," Yang Cheng cut him off coldly. "Yes, there was a great fortune inside. And yes, I've already claimed it. And then? What does that have to do with you?"
Yang Xiu froze. He hadn't expected Yang Cheng to admit it outright.
He had already prepared for Yang Cheng to deny, ready to expose him and slap him in the face.
But now, it felt like his fist had sunk into cotton.
Still, he wasn't ordinary.
He quickly adjusted and sneered. "Everyone heard it. He admitted it himself. He obtained a great fortune in that cave. Yang Cheng, the Qingqiu Secret Realm doesn't belong to you alone. Hand over the fortune immediately."
"Sixth Brother, after all these years, you still haven't grown at all," Yang Cheng sighed. "Once a fortune is already in someone's hands, who would ever hand it over? How can you spout something so stupid?"
"Enough," Tian Congxuan snapped coldly. "I don't have time to watch the two of you bicker. Yang Cheng, hand over the fortune, or we'll settle the debt from a year ago right here."
"Come on then," Yang Cheng said with contempt. "I'll be waiting."